Counting of votes begins in Punjab

Chandigarh, Feb 27 (UNI) Counting of votes commenced at 0800 hrs this morning at 116 polling centres simultaneously across Punjab, where over 76 per cent of 1.67 crore electorate had participated in the polls for 116 assembly seats.

The counting was also taken up for the prestigious Amritsar Lok Sabha seat where star BJP candidate Navjot Singh Sidhu is pitted against state finance minister Surinder Singla.

The counting will decide the fate of 1043 assembly candidates, 50 of them women. All the results, including of the Amritsar parliamentary constituency, are expected by noon. Trends are expected to pour in at 0900 hrs.

The main tussle for power is between Chief Minister Amarinder Singh of the Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) supremo Parkash Singh Badal. The ruling party and the SAD in alliance with the BJP contested all the 116 assembly seats.

The Punjab Cabinet yesterday recommended the dissolution of the 12th state assembly to pave the way for the constitution of the 13th state assembly.

The result for Beas asembly constituency will come later as the polling was postponed there for March 11 due to violence in which an Akali activists was killed during the canvassing.

At least 3000 personnel are involved in counting of votes 'locked' in about 18,040 EVMs. They are equipped with advanced communication system, including Fax and the Internet, to promptly convey the detailed information of all rounds of counting to the Election Commission in New Delhi and Chandigarh immediately after every round. Stringent security arrangements have been made to ensure that the counting takes place smoothly. The seats from where prominent persons are contesting have been provided with extra security and the Election Commission has given directives to Deputy Commissioners and SSPs of these districts to ensure peaceful conduct of counting and keep supporters of rival political candidates at bay from the counting centres.

Capt Amarinder Singh has claimed the Congress will win over 70 seats in the assembly elections to return to power, breaking a 40-year-old anti-incumbency jinx in the state.

The octogenarian SAD supremo, Mr Badal, has declared that he is ''fitter than the most in the political arena today, knew the pulse of the voters'' and was looking forward to leading the common man on the path to progress and prosperity once again.

The other main contenders whose political fate is being decided include former SGPC President Bibi Jagir Kaur (Bholath), Punjab Congress chief Shamsher Singh Dullo (Khanna-Reserve), Deputy Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal (Lehra Gagga), Deputy Speaker Prof Darbari Lal and senior BJP leader Laxmi Kanta Chawla (both from Amritsar Central) and BSP chief Avtar Singh Karimpuri (Mahilpur-R).

Besides the Congress and the SAD-BJP, the BSP also contested 116 assembly seats. The CPI had put up candidates on 24 seats while the NCP contested 15 and CPI-M 14. Besides nominees of other parties, there are as many as 641 independents, many of whom were rebels from the two major parties.

UNI